Watch Kendrick Lamar’s Powerful Grammys Performance

Kendrick Lamar’s performance at the Grammys was on fire—literally.

The rapper performed his song “Alright” in front of a giant pyre surrounded by dancers in what instantly became one of the evening’s most electrifying performances. Lamar’s set was full of references to the national conversation around police brutality and the Black Lives Matter movement: the rapper took the stage with what appeared to be a bruise painted around his left eye, and he performed his song “The Black the Berry” with chains on his hands in a set designed to look like a prison.

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Both songs were from Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly, which won Best Rap Album earlier in the evening (along with four other awards) and was named one of TIME’s best albums of 2015 last year. “Alright,” in particular, has become a rallying cry and theme song for Black Lives Matter protesters.